1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication device or handset capable of at least two wireless communication links, at least one of which is with another communication device over a direct device-to-device link without any intervening base station. In its particular aspects, the present invention relates to such a mobile communication device in which the wireless direct device-to-device link is implemented in accordance with the Bluetooth Intercom profile.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a wireless communication device is known from Bluetooth Specification, Version 1.0, Foundation, Jul. 22, 1999, adopted by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, (hereafter the xe2x80x9cBluetooth specificationxe2x80x9d), in particular at Volume 2 (Profiles), page 148.
The Bluetooth specification includes the definition of the protocols and procedures to be used by devices implementing the wireless intercom part of a use case called xe2x80x9c3-in-1 phonexe2x80x9d, typically including a direct speech link between two devices, established using telephony based signaling. A typical scenario is a speech call between two (cellular) phones implemented by a direct phone-to-phone wireless connection using Bluetooth only.
However, the Bluetooth specification does not consider the possibility of a group call functionality to allow a first phone to use a Bluetooth link to conference a second phone into a cellular call with a remote third phone, or to allow three or more phones to participate in a group conversation implemented entirely via Bluetooth Intercom links.
It is known to include conference or multi-party call functionality in networks, PBXs, multi-line wired phones, and cordless base stations, but not in mobile phones or entirely wireless communication terminals.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication device configured for communicating over a first wireless link, and also configured for communicating with one or more other communication devices over other respective wireless direct device-to-device second links, with functionality to carry on a group call by appropriately combining speech signals carried by the various links.
It is a further object that this group call functionality be provided in the case where the one or more second links are implemented by the Bluetooth Intercom Profile and/or the first wireless link is a direct device-to-device link implemented by the Bluetooth Intercom Profile to still another communication device.
These and other objects of the present invention are satisfied by providing such a communication device wherein means for carrying a local side of a call over the first wireless link and the local sides of the one or more second wireless links may be active simultaneously, and includes group call combining means for forming the signals applied to a local end, the signals applied to a first call over the first link, and the signals applied to a second call over the second link, such that the signals applied to the local end include contributions from the signals derived from the remote ends of the first and second calls, the signals applied to said first call include contributions from the signals derived from the local and second ends, and the signals applied to the second call include contributions derived from the local and first ends.
The present invention is also characterized in that said first link either includes a cellular or PCS or cordless wireless link to a base station or is a direct device-to-device link to still another communication device, without any intervening base station.
The present invention is further characterized in that the one or more wireless direct device-to-device links are implemented in accordance with the Bluetooth Intercom Profile. In a further embodiment, the first link is a cordless link implemented in accordance with the Bluetooth Telephony profile.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon perusal of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the appended drawing, wherein: